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A PAC is a group of individuals external to Seneca who provide industry expertise and insight to help academic schools develop and renew Seneca’s programs according to labour market needs.
Seneca employees, including non-full-time faculty, cannot serve on a PAC.
PACs may be established for an individual program or a cluster of related programs and are operationalized by PAC policy and terms of reference.
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The recommended number of members for a non-degree PAC is six to ten members, while a degree PAC should include eight to twelve members, including one academic expert in the sector from another postsecondary institution.
When determining the appropriate number of PAC members, the following factors should be considered:
Typically, PAC members are locally based to support in-person engagement with the program and students. Remote or international members may be considered on a case-by-case basis by the academic Chair and Dean. Factors include:
No, a PAC member should not sit on more than one PAC at Seneca to ensure focus, engagement, and clear alignment with one occupational area.
Seneca discourages its PAC members from sustained involvement on a PAC at another postsecondary institution.
All members must sign the Non-disclosure Agreement for PAC members and adhere to PAC confidentiality and conflict of interest guidelines.
Yes. Alumni - including recent alumni - can be nominated as PAC members if they meet the PAC membership criteria (e.g., they can contribute current, relevant industry/occupational insight aligned to the program area).
When considering a recent alumnus, programs should ensure the nominee:
The members of each PAC will vote on a formal motion to elect a chair from the membership for a two-year term.
PAC chairs may stand for re-election of a PAC committee once, at Seneca’s discretion.
As a PAC member, external to Seneca, the PAC Chair provides leadership to the committee and supports balanced discussion, effective decision-making, and the overall integrity of the PAC’s advice and recommendations.
For more information on the role of the PAC chair, please refer to the section, Hosting a PAC meeting.
Seneca’s Board of Governors reimburses program areas for food and parking costs incurred for in-person PAC meetings in accordance with the amounts outlined in Seneca’s Travel and Expense Policy.
Program areas can submit an expense report or journal voucher through i3 using the Board’s responsibility centre (RC). Similarly, program areas can use the Board’s RC to request a guest code for parking on campus. Please contact the Board of Governors Office for assistance.
A program intake suspension occurs when Seneca decides not to admit new students to a program for a given term (e.g., fall, winter, summer). Intake suspensions may occur for one or more terms, and admissions may resume in a later term.
If a program has multiple intakes per year and one intake is suspended, the PAC is expected to continue meeting.
If a program has one intake per year and the intake is suspended, the PAC should meet to discuss the onset of the suspension.
If a program is suspending intakes on an ongoing basis, we recommend either a brief meeting once a year or an email update to keep the PAC informed of the program’s status. It is important to maintain contact with the PAC until it is reconvened to consult on next steps, including reactivating the program or proceeding with formal suspension and cancellation.
Although a formal motion from the PAC is not required for program suspension or cancellation, the PAC should be consulted on both.
Please consult Seneca’s Academic Program Suspension and Cancellation Policy for more information.
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